Jonathan J. Miner
Kurtis Hopp as Dr. Frank-N-Furter
Just as the hapless, adorable young couple Brad and Janet may never be the same after wandering into the Frankenstein Castle at the beginning of The Rocky Horror Show, audiences may never be same after seeing this co-production from Mercury Players Theatre and OUT!Cast Theatre, playing at the Bartell Theatre through February 27. Filled with sequins, smoke machines, suggestive choreography, sci-fi and sex, it’s a silly romp that is as infectiously fun as its signature dance number, “The Time Warp.”
As the audience finds their seats, a large movie screen that dominates one side of the cleverly designed set (Erin Baal) runs clips of iconic black-and-white movies such as King Kong, The Invisible Man, It Came from Outer Space and Dr. X. This perfectly sets up the musical as a parody of that disaster/horror genre, with its monsters, aliens and primitive special effects. To further lure the audience into the show, Trixie the Usherette (a brassy Katie Cass) sings dreamily about a “Science Fiction Double Feature” before inviting us to experience the mad world of Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his pleasure-obsessed Transylvanian entourage.
When the squeaky clean, newly engaged couple — Brad (Michael Costanzo, perfectly nerdy) and his blushing fiancée, Janet Weiss (Katie Debs) — get a flat tire on a rainy night. They go to the Frankenstein Castle to call for help, and we know long before the narrator (a spooky Jim Chiolino) explains it that these two babes in the woods are in for an adventure.
But instead of King Kong or a six-headed alien, the dangerous force at work in Rocky Horror is a gorgeous transvestite (Kurtis Hopp), who makes an ingenious entrance, clad in a sparkling gown and red leather thigh-boots with stiletto heels. He is accompanied by the castle butler Riff Raff (Robert Helfinstine), who resembles Frankenstein’s infamous assistant Igor, with his distinct gait and sinister voice.
Jonathan J. Miner
Alyson Barrett as Columbia, Robert Helfinstine as Riff-Raff, Michael Constanzo as Brad, Katie Debs as Janet.
Clad in only their underwear, Brad and Janet are escorted up to the mad doctor’s laboratory to meet his latest creation, Rocky — a perfectly hunky man with bulging muscles and only half a brain (the delightful Alex Van Handel). For the rest of the night, Rocky runs from his creator, Brad and Janet are tempted by the Doctor to “give over to their absolute pleasure,” there is a great deal of innuendo-filled dancing, and more tropes from sci-fi classics.
While a stage full of men and women dressed in leather, fishnets, lamé and bondage gear isn’t as shocking today as it might have been when the musical debuted in 1973, the idea that overt sexual expression in many forms could represent the ultimate horror still amuses. And the fact that this production avoids camp by playing it “straight” makes the sex and the sci-fi even more fun.
Deftly directed by Steve Noll with creative choreography by Lyn Pilch, this Rocky Horror salutes the original musical, not the movie — so keep your squirt guns and pieces of toast at home. Instead, sit back and enjoy a fantastic cast; dozens of intricate, exquisite, and over-the-top outfits created by costume designer Jenni Schwaner Ladd; and vintage video clips that perfectly underscore the action onstage, designed by Ron Collins and Karl Reinhardt. (They also get props for the absolute best pre-show message about silencing cell-phones I have ever seen.)
Above all, don’t miss this terrific ensemble’s invitation to “do the time warp again.”
